Tibetan nun dies in self-immolation protest

A Tibetan nun died after setting herself on fire in China's Sichuan province on Thursday, the official Xinhua news agency said, in the eleventh such incident involving Buddhist monks and nuns in the restive region.

The International Campaign for Tibet confirmed the death of the nun, named Qiu Xiang and aged about 35, saying she called for religious freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan spiritual leader, as she set herself on fire.

London-based rights group Free Tibet also confirmed the latest incident when contacted by AFP.

Xinhua said Ms Qiu set herself alight around 1:00 pm (local time) in Dawu county, part of Ganzi prefecture in China's Sichuan province, and that local authorities had launched an investigation into her death.

Local police declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

But Xinhua later said an initial police investigation had shown the case was "masterminded and instigated by the Dalai Lama clique, which had plotted a chain of self-immolations in the past months for splitting motives".

Xinhua cited Tashi Omgyene, a local official.

Eight Tibetan Buddhist monks and two nuns have now set themselves alight in Tibetan-inhabited regions of Sichuan since the self-immolation of a young monk at the Kirti monastery in Aba county in March sparked major protests that led to a government clampdown.

At least five monks and two nuns have died in the self-immolations, rights groups have said.

"We heard she called for religious freedom and the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet," International Campaign for Tibet spokeswoman Kate Saunders said, citing sources in the region.

Tibetans in Ganzi prefecture are "known to be strong in their religious beliefs" and the region "has been very restive for some time, particularly since July", Ms Saunders added.

Many Tibetans in China are angry about what they see as growing domination by the country's majority Han ethnic group.

Most of the suicide attempts have taken place around the Kirti monastery, which is also in Sichuan, and which has become a flashpoint for the mounting anger at the erosion of Tibetan culture.